Moonkin Form
The Moonkin is a creature whose presence brings tranquility. Moonkin Form enables a Druid to specialize in DPS spellcasting. Notes * Immune to Polymorph effects. * While in this form, you can only cast Balance spells, Remove Curse, and Abolish Poison * When in Moonkin Form you are flagged as a humanoid and are immune to beast-type magic, like a Druid's Hibernate, or Hunter abilities designed to affect beasts, but you are also immune to polymorph. (It used to be possible to knock a Moonkin out into normal form with Hallowed Wands, but this has been fixed.) * Moonkin is one of only two shapeshift forms in which a druid can deal weapon damage. (The other is Tree of Life form.) In feral forms, damage dealt is feral, not weapon damage. * You cannot ride mounts while in Moonkin Form. You will also need to remove Moonkin Form in order to use a flight path; unlike the other forms, talking to a Flight Master NPC will not force the Druid out of Moonkin Form.*There are a few places where change of appearance can allow you to ride mounts in Moonkin Form, such as places were you get the fel orc costume. Shifting into Moonkin Form will not change your appearance, just give you the bonuses to Armor and Crit,and it is possible to mount. Leaving such an area will not dismount you but you will gain your moonkin appearance, making you a mounted moonkin. This same trick can be done in Wetlands with the Cursed Sailors. * When in Moonkin Form the druid dances exactly like when using the Gordok Ogre Suit. * It is possible to tank many instances in Moonkin form. However, the talent builds and gear required differ from a DPS role. * Players have given the moonkin form many nicknames. These are normally short and end with ...nkin or just ....kin, some of these are: Boomkin (a moonkin druid with a high damage output), Oomkin (a moonkin with poor mana regen), Doomkin (a good PVP moonkin, rarely used), Noob/newbkin (a bad/inexperienced moonkin druid), Panzerkin (a tanking moonkin). Sometimes these nicknames are use to describe a particular druid, but most of the time players use them as a general term. Many moonkin druids find some of these nicknames insulting. Tips and tactics Invest in as many talents that increase the DPS of your spells, both those that reduce casting time (Starlight Wrath) and increase damage (Moonfury). If you are going for a group PvE build, don't invest in talents that require physical contact (like Brambles). However, if you are going for a solo PvE build, then do invest in these talents, and make sure to have Barkskin active, as you will need it if you're taking damage, even with the 370% armor increase. Tanking Moonkin ("Panzerkins") can be a strong alternative to non-tank specs through decent damage mitigation and high DPS (versus main tank specs). Moonkin tanking is rare for many reasons, but Moonkin have successfully tanked Karazhan, Gruul's Lair and most 5-man heroics. Gearing is problematic; PvE rewards do not generally support Moonkin tanking, but the Arena Rewards for druids provide some of the balance necessary. Keep in mind that moonkin armor is equivalent to plate, but will still be lower than most warriors, feral druids, and paladins because of the lack of armor-increasing talents (e.g. Toughness). Lithanial's guide to Moonkin Tankingand Thunja's guide to WOTLK Panzerkin Tanking are currently the largest sets of information about Moonkin tanking. PvE Moonkin have three primary abilities that are key to surviving in PvE - Cyclone, Entangling Roots, and Barkskin. Cyclone is obtained at level 70 and allows the druid to temporarily encase a target in a cyclone which makes him immune to all forms of attack (lasts 6 seconds). Entangling Roots snares a target in place for up to 27 seconds and does damage every 3 seconds, however external damage to the snared target can remove the effect. Both of these abilities give the Moonkin CC abilities which are essential for those "whoops, I pulled one too many" moments. Barkskin reduces all damage taken by 20% and prevents pushback on your spells for 12 seconds. Obviously Barkskin is useful for mitigating damage but it also allows the druid to shift back to caster form and cast some HoTs. Lifebloom and Rejuvenation, along with the bonus healing from Lunar Guidance, increases a Moonkin's survivability considerably. Now one might ask, "both those HoTs are instant so why should I wait until I cast Barkskin to shift out and use them?" The answer to that is simple, when you shift out, you lose the 370% bonus to your armor, so you take significantly more damage, Barkskin helps to reduce that loss of armor. Cyclone has diminishing returns in PvE and is therefore not an effective way of CC'ing a particular mob for an extended period of time. After three casts of Cyclone on a particular mob, the mob is immune to the spell. In Wrath of the Lich King, Balance druids have learned a new powerful spell known as Starfall, which is capable of AOE damage to enemies in a very wide area dealing high damage. Also a new ability called Typhoon which shoots a wave of nature power in front of the caster stirke and knocking back any enemies it hits and damaging them which has usfulness in both PVE and PVP. PvP Moonkin truly shine in PvP, so much more in WOTLK that they have begun to be called PWNkins. Starfire and Wrath can quickly chip away at an enemy's health while the DoT from Moonfire finishes off anyone who runs away. One thing that should be taken to heart: Moonfire spam is fun and ticks a lot of people off but absolutely destroys your mana supply. Moonfire spam should only be used to finish off a fleeing opponent, or as a last ditch effort to survive. Also, by spamming Moonfire, you never allow its DoT to run its course, because every time you cast Moonfire, its timer resets. If you insist on spamming Moonfire, cast your highest rank first then switch to your second highest. This still deals massive damage but it also allows your DoT to run its course. Starfall can be a very useful tool in PvP, because the moonkin doesnt have to channel the spell and it will auto hit any enemy player who threads to close to the moonkin. Typhoon can also be a very useful spell if a melee class such as a rogue gets up close to the moonkin they can knock the enemy player and away and change to cat form to get out of range and continue the attack. Insect Swarm does decent damage per point of mana and its marginal reduction in hit chance isn't too shabby. Entangling Roots, unfortunately, is becoming less useful as time passes because more and more classes are being given ways to escape snare effects. If anything, it still delays a player from reaching you, which usually will give you the time to cast a Starfire/Moonfire combo. Use Starfire from range and Wrath in melee. Most players will suggest beginning fights in Cat Form. If you are a Night Elf (and patient), simply shadowmeld and wait for your target to come in range then surprise them. Starting from Cat Form has its advantages though. If you are a competent "stance dancer" (you should be if you wish to be a Moonkin) you can Pounce and then Rip your target, then switch to Bear Form before they recover from the stun. From Bear Form, melee your target once (possibly twice if you are unlucky) to get enough rage to Bash your target. This gives you enough time to switch to Caster Form and place a Rejuvenation on yourself and switch back into Moonkin. Once back into Moonkin Form, Moonfire your target. At this point the stun should be wearing off. The rest is up to you. Patch changes * * * * * * References 1. Thunja 07/24/2009 Thunja's guide to WOTLK Panzerkin Tanking Retrieved on 2009-08-08. External links *Raiding Basics: Level 80 Moonkin *Maximizing Your Moonkin *Balance Equipment List *Balance One Stop Shop *Tanking of Prince Malchezaar, High King Maulgar and Gruul es:Forma de lechúcico lunar Category:Druid talents Category:Druid abilities Moonkin Form